Lodging tax receipts up in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. -- A 3 percent lodging tax in Alexandria is generating big bucks for promoting the local tourism scene.

Through the first nine months of this year, the tax has raised more than $200,000 and is on track to eclipse last year’s record-breaking mark of $237,153 by 4 percent.
Sara Stadtherr, executive director of Alexandria Hotel and Hospitality (AHH) – the organization that collects and oversees the proceeds – went over the numbers with the Alexandria City Council at its meeting Monday night.
The lodging tax is added on to the bills paid by guests staying at 598 rooms at 15 local lodging establishments, which include motels, hotels, bed and breakfasts and resorts.
AHH collected record-breaking totals in six of the first nine months this year, Stadtherr said.
“Not many markets are seeing the growth rates we are,” she told the council.
An AHH board, comprised of five members representing the 14 properties, two from the local tourism organizations and one city council member, decides how the money is spent. It targets demographics in two main areas: the Twin Cities and Fargo-Moorhead, Stadtherr said.